Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is—a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

At a Glance:

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this series. It's exciting, mysterious, and full of all the paranormal goodness that I've been craving!

The Audio:

I really like this series on audio. I listened to The Gathering on audio also, and knew immediately that I'd want to listen the rest of the series as well. I love Jennifer Ikeda's voice for Maya. Especially now that I've listened to both books, she just IS Maya to me. I think it's difficult for readers to get the balance between articulating, and over-articulating, and Jennifer has that down. There are quite a few different characters that have large roles in the book, and she does great at distinguishing between all of them, even the boys! I can't wait to get the next book, and I'll most certainly be listening to that one too! If you'd like to hear a sample of The Calling, you can find that here.

Skinwalkers:

Who needs Werewolves when you can be a Cougar? And, no, I don't mean the cradle-robbing older women. I love that Maya can turn into a cougar. I have always had a huge love and fascination with Big Cats. Maybe it's because I used to watch those Dicovery Channel episodes with my dad, but either way, I love them. So, when I learned that Maya's skinwalker ability was turning into a cougar, I was hooked. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding how and why and what's going to happen now, but we finally get a glimpse of what life as a cougar is like for her in this book. One thing's for sure......you don't want to make her mad!

Love Triangles:

Oh, Maya. Are you completely blind? You're in the middle of a big fat love triangle and you don't even know it!! Daniel, Rafe. Rafe, Daniel. Who can choose? Well, I think I'd have to go with Daniel, but I'm afraid Maya just isn't going to feel it. Why can't they ever choose the guy I like?? I guess we'll just have to see what happens in the next book. The tension is definitely there though. Tension between Maya and Rafe, then later....between Maya and Daniel. I loved how much Daniel was in this book, and how much he cares for Maya. He is just seriously amazing. Yeah....I just talked myself firmly into the Team Daniel Camp.

Complaints?

I have to say, I don't have any. There are a few things that I can see being an issue for some. Most of this book was the group of teens being on the run in the woods. Not too much was figured out, and I can see that some will think this is just a "bridge book" between one and three, but with Kelly's writing, it didn't bother me. I just enjoyed reading about their adventure. I've also seen that some are saying the format is too similar to her other series. I actually never read her Darkest Powers Trilogy, or her adult series, so this wasn't a problem for me at all, and I can't really speak to that. For me, I just really like this series. I enjoyed the pacing, the mystery, the suspicions about practically everyone, the romantic tension, and the paranormal element. I even like how the paranormal is tied in with science. I'm excited to see where this series goes, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys Paranormal Romance!

9 comments:

I totally almost always choose the wrong part of the love triangle too. Then I'm all :( when I read the end of the book. Like obviously that guy IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU. Then I throw the book. Sigh!

I loved, loved LOVED The Darkest Powers trilogy - mostly because I was expecting it to be a crap story about a girl who sees ghost, but was surprised to find out that not only is the storyline awesome, so is the writing! So as you can guess I was really excited about The Gathering. I have to say I liked Maya but I wasn't, crazy about Rafe and the story was alright. All in all Gathering was a bit of a let down, I had really high expectations. I don't have as high an expectation for this book, so I'll take it as it comes. I haven't read The Calling yet but I totally ship Daniel and Maya as well, although I think she'll probably end up choosing Rafe. *sigh* Remind you of another series where we ship the OTHER guy Andye? *cough* hex hall *cough*

I have to say from the moment I started The Calling I was enjoying it. I loved that they were on the run, because no matter how many books come in this series when it comes to kids in each of the different projects, at one point, they WILL be on the run. So I don't care if it's similar to Darkest Powers, because both groups are in the same situations.I think I enjoyed the "on the run" more because Rafe wasn't part of it, hehe. What can I say? I ship Daniel and Maya (although I don't see it happening. Maya's clearly chosen Rafe. Pity.)

I am REALLY excited to read the next one! I think I've been excited to read the 3rd book before the series began! Because we'd been told by Kelley that this lot would be meeting up with our old gang. Can't wait to see Chloe and Derek again!!! :D